about O'Brien's football IQ. "One thing coach Franklin always told me — and it has always stuck with me — is, 'Always prepare like you are the starter,''' O'Brien said. "I kind of took that to heart and prepared like I was going to be playing game one in 2009.''
O'Brien wound up redshirting during his fresh- man season at Maryland. "I warmed up for a couple of games thinking I might go in, especially later in the year,'' he recalled. "But preparing like I was going to be the starter allowed me to be ready when it was my time to play. The game was a lot slower for me my redshirt freshman year than it would have been if I had gotten in as an 18-year- old kid.'' As Jamarr Robinson's back-up, O'Brien saw limited action through the first three games of the 2010 season though he did make the most of his
mop-up duty against Morgan State by throwing three touchdowns passes on his first four pass at- tempts. The following week in practice, O'Brien was hobbled by an ankle sprain and Robinson took most of the snaps in a 31-17 loss at West Virginia. Robinson had injury problems of his own, a strained shoulder, and when it worsened, Fried- gen signaled to the bullpen for O'Brien, who got his first collegiate starting assignment against Florida International in the fourth game of the season. In becoming only the fifth freshman quar- terback to start in Maryland history, the first since 1999, O'Brien didn't disappoint. Completing 18-of-27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, he led the Terps to a 42-28 vic- tory. "It's different going into a game knowing that you're the guy,'' O'Brien said. "The good thing is when you prepare the same way every week; you
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